Design Document for: Math Town Where Math Meets Fun!

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Jane Pitts
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2 Table of Contents MATH TOWN 1 DESIGN HISTORY 3 VERSION VERSION GAME OVERVIEW 4 VISION STATEMENT 4 Adding and subtracting negative numbers through living in the crazy Math Town 4 MARKET ANALYSIS 5 AUDIENCE PROFILE 5 DISTRIBUTION 5 DETAILED GAME DESCRIPTION 6 THE CORE IDEA 6 BACKGROUND STORY 6 GAME OBJECTIVE 6 GAME WORLD 6 GAME PLAY 6 SET UP 7 RULE/MECHANICS 8 WINNING 9 ASSESSING OUTCOMES 9 OTHER ASPECTS 9 PROTOTYPE/PLAYTEST 10 PROTOTYPE #1: 4/16/ PROTOTYPE #2: 4/24/ PROTOTYPE #3: 4/28/ PLAY SESSION: 5/2/

3 Design History This document is meant to describe the new game, Math Town, and the history of its development. I began with the idea of wanting to create the concept of negative numbers fun and interesting. The first time through with this lesson, I had the students enter items they bought into a checkbook registry. I decided to expand on this idea and create a full learning game out of it. I begin to brainstorm the concept with a fellow math teacher and the ideas started to evolve in the game outlined in this draft. Version 1.10 Version 1.10 includes some tuning and tweaking that I did after making my initial pass at the design. Here is what I changed. 1. I changed the board from a single shared board, to each player getting their own individual board based on the company they chose to play. 2. I added the rule that players can choose when to pay their bills to their opponents. 3. I added a few additional businesses that students can choose. Version I made the game boards into dry erase boards 2. Clarified the rules regarding taking turns 3. Changed rules about IRS deductions made it a flat fee of $ Made the player requirement 4-8 players instead of 2-8 players 5. Added Bill cards to determine the amount to pay for each bill

4 Game Overview Vision Statement Adding and subtracting negative numbers through living in the crazy Math Town In the game of Math Town, players aren t just players, they re business owners. The goal of this game is to stay afloat and make the most profit at the end of the game. In order to do this, players will need to pay and receive bills, and make sure their bookkeeping is solid. If not, the IRS will come in and penalize them! In order to keep the finances accurate, students will be adding and subtracting negative numbers to their checkbooks and try to stay profitable. The players of the game act as a member of the community. Instead of picking a game piece to move, they choose which business in the community they prefer. As a member of the Math Town community, a player can choose a Math Town business to operate. Each player has a checkbook ledger that they need to work off from. One player works on their transactions at a time. When they land on a bill due date, they pay that member of the community their bills. To determine the amount of money to pay for the bill, the player chooses a Bill Card which states a price to pay. The player that owes money will add the negative amount to their checkbook. The player that is the business adds the positive number to their checkbook. When the transactions are complete, and the players are done with their math, they say Cha Ching! to alert the other players they are finished. All other players not involved in the transaction will be the auditors, and if the equations are incorrect, the person that made the error will pay the IRS fee of $250, or the player that caught the mistake. The goal of the game is to go through a full month and have the most profit. But here s the catch: There is not a single board, but instead each player receives their own boards. The boards are broken into 30 days, or one calendar month. The boards are dry erase boards, so after the players pick their company they want to represent, they then also pick the due dates for each bill, and write them on the board. The standard payday for each company is different (represented on that company s board), so the player needs choose their due dates wisely, in order to not run out of money. Since they are not able to determine when all of their money will be received by the other players, there is a very real chance they could go broke, or have a negative checkbook (in Math Town, this is okay as it reinforces the concept of adding negative numbers). This rule involves a bit of chance, and a bit of strategy for which dates to pay the bills. Once everyone has had a chance to go through all of their transactions, that day is over and the players place an X through that date on the calendar. Then all players move on to the next day on the calendar, and start their transactions and game cards again. Play starts with the youngest player, and works clockwise through the rest of the players. There must be at least four to eight players involved in the game of Math Town. Through having students add and subtract negative numbers from their checkbooks, and also double checking their opponents for accuracy, players get real life application of why learning negative numbers is important, and practice on how to use the strategies taught in class.

5 Market Analysis This game is made to be played in a mathematics class to reinforce the objective of adding and subtracting negative numbers. The goal is to help students practice strategies to get to the appropriate answers. However, there could be some interest outside of the classroom, in that in general it is a fun concept. Audience profile Students in sixth to eighth grade math classes will play this game. They will need to have some basic understanding of positive and negative numbers, and some strategies on how to add and subtract them. This class would best be played after a negative numbers unit is taught. Lesson objectives that Math Town reinforces: Describe the relationship between a negative integer and owing money Recognize that the sum of two negative integers is a negative integer Perform addition of two negative integers Recognize that the sum of two positive integers is a positive integer Perform addition of two positive integers Perform addition of integers with unlike signs Distribution Math Town is meant to be distributed to math teachers looking for a fun way to reinforce addition of negative numbers. This game will be advertised via teaching websites; specifically math teaching site, as well as magazines distributed to the mathematical teacher s communities.

6 Detailed Game Description The Core Idea In the game of Math Town, players aren t just players, they re business owners. The goal of this game is to stay afloat and make the most profit at the end of the game. In order to do this, players will need to pay and receive bills, and make sure their bookkeeping is solid. If not, the IRS will come in and penalize them! In order to keep the books current, students will be adding and subtracting negative numbers to their checkbooks and try to stay profitable. Background Story Math town is a thriving community of successful business owners. But like in any community, in order to stay successful the bills must be paid on time. When moving to Math Town, players need to pick a business that interests them and stay profitable by paying their bills on time. Players can choose one of the following businesses to operate: U-Pump Gas Station Ring-Ring Phone Company Buzzy Electric Company Oscar s Trash Company Super-Market Grocery Store Paul s Plumbing Betty s Bakery Mechanics R Us Game Objective To win the game, players must own a company in Math Town for one month. The player at the end of the month with the most profit, or closest number to zero if all players are in the red, wins. In order to get the most profit, players need to pick the right dates to pay their bills, receive money from their opponents at the right time, and make sure to keep their checkbook accurate or else they ll get penalized. Through playing this game from start to finish, players are reinforcing the strategies they learned on how to add and subtract negative integers. Game World The game consists of each player having their own payment calendar. As a result, there are several boards operating at the same time. As in real life, there are different bills that occur on different days. Also, through Budget Cards, players will encounter different obstacles and rewards throughout the month that make the days more interesting. Game Play The game plays like a calendar, so every day changes together. Players don t take turns, but instead wait for the day to change. Playing starts on the first of the month, and one at a time (starting with the youngest and working clockwise) all players perform their required tasks. Once completed, the calendar changes to day two for all players, and the again perform their tasks. At the end of thirty days, all players will be at the same place on their game boards. Once everyone has had a chance to go through all of their transactions, that day is over and the players place an X through that date on the calendar. Then all players move on to the next day on the calendar, and start their transactions and game cards again.

The game boards will be made out of dry erase boards. Example Game Board After picking their calendars, players will receive their own checkbook ledgers as well.

7 Set up Players begin by choosing a company in Math Town that they want to represent. Each company has a different game board, or monthly calendar. Within the 30 day calendar month, each company has a unique payday (once a month, every 15 th and 30 th, every other week, etc.) and obstacles/rewards to encounter. The game boards will be made out of dry erase boards. Example Game Board After picking their calendars, players will receive their own checkbook ledgers as well. The starting amount of money in the ledger is $500. Ledgers come with pencils to add new line items to the checkbook. At the end of each game, these ledgers can be torn off and thrown away. Example Checkbook Registers After choosing a company to represent, the players will next choose which days of the month they need to pay their bills. Strategy here is important, because if a player chooses a business that only gets paid once a month, they might want to pay their bills all at once. If a company gets paid every other week, it might be better to pay their bills spread out throughout the month, and so on. Players will write on the dry erase board which days they choose to pay each company s bills.

Rule/Mechanics As in real life, all days start and end at the same time. No player rolls a dice or takes a turn. When everyone is ready, the game starts on day one.

If any calculations need to be made, the rest of the players act as the IRS and double check the math.

8 Rule/Mechanics As in real life, all days start and end at the same time. No player rolls a dice or takes a turn. When everyone is ready, the game starts on day one. If a person is supposed to receive a payday, they add that to their checkbook. If they need to pay an opponent, they add a negative number to their checkbook. If any calculations need to be made, the rest of the players act as the IRS and double check the math. If the calculations are off, the person who caught the mistake gets to add that to their ledger, under the category of IRS Addition. The person who made the mistake will subtract it from their ledger under the category of IRS deduction. Once all bills are paid and checkbooks are updated, all players move to day two and continue the process. After each day is completed, players will cross off that day on the calendar. If a player lands on a Budget Card, they must take one of the cards, read it aloud, and follow the instructions. Budget Cards can include reward items such as Receive a bonus of $250 for hard work, where students would add that to their account. Budget Cards could also have consequences such as Get caught speeding, paid a fine of -$150, and so on. As will paydays and due dates, other players will need to double check the checkbooks for accuracy. Budget Cards When a bill is due, the player will pick up a Bill Card to determine the amount they owe the company they re paying. Bill Cards can range anywhere between 50 to 2500 dollars. This keeps the element of chance in the game, as no player knows how much they will be paying or receiving for their bills. Once paid, the Bill Card goes back to the bottom of the deck. Bill Cards

9 Winning Players continue on throughout the rest of the month. All addition and subtraction is verified by the IRS, or other players. If a player does not have enough money, they need to make their checkbook negative. After a 30 day calendar month the game is over. The player with the most money (or closest to zero if all are players have negative balances), and typically least mathematical mistakes, wins. Assessing outcomes The goal of this game is to get students to reinforce strategies they learned in class for how to add negative integers. Throughout the process of the game, if they have a successful checkbook they will be showing success practice of these techniques. Also, with IRS deductions, we can see if they might have started with more mistakes and had them lessen over time, or if they still weren t applying the concepts well. In the end, Math Town allows students to practice the strategies they learn in class, and apply them to a real life situation, which is the goal of the game. Other aspects The most interesting part of the game is that the players all receive their own boards and can manage their own companies through these boards and by paying their bills. Players also don t know how much the bills are going to cost until they chose a Bill Card to determine the amount. The element of chance, as well as strategy, is what makes Math Town fun!

10 Prototype/Playtest Prototype #1: 4/16/2011 Prototype included defining all major components of the game and starting to come up with the game concept. Original concept included one game board for all players to use. Prototype #2: 4/24/2011 Working on the advanced rules. Decided to create individual game boards for each player instead of one main board. Worked with the rules to make it that even when a player isn t taking a turn, they can still be involved with the game (making transactions and playing as the IRS). This is a game element similar to how The Settlers of Catan is played. Prototype #3: 4/28/2011 Changed the game board to a dry erase board so that players could write in the due dates of bills, and X off each day as it passes. Game is ready for the play session. Play Session: 5/2/2011 Since the game is was in concept stage, we played a mock game without all of the pieces present. Through the play testing we realized some rules needed to be added or adjusted. First, we realized there had to be something in place for taking turns, otherwise there would be chaos for each player to be performing their transactions at the same time. We implemented the rule of one player going at a time, and taking care of all of their transactions or Budget Cards. This way, only two people were performing math at one time. We also realized that there needed to be a trigger for when the player was done with their math, so the other players knew when to act as IRS and double check the math. In order to trigger their turn being over, the player needs to yell out Cha Ching! so the IRS can start to double check the math. We also decided to add the rule of Bill Cards to make the bills be more of a random chance, and keep the element of surprise in the game. The last change we made was making it so that instead of paying the difference of the mathematical mistakes found through the IRS, instead we made it a flat fee of $250. This kept the math cleaner and easier to manage.

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